The Colts have held training camp at Anderson University for the past seven years (2010-2016), and before that they had held camp there for their first 15 seasons in Indianapolis (1984-1998).
But according to the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder, the Colts are once again considering moving locations for training camp. Pete Ward, the Colts’ Chief Operating Officer, confirmed to Holder that the Colts are considering a possible move to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
Holder says the Colts haven’t ruled out holding training camp at their own facility, like many teams are choosing to do nowadays, but noted that there would be “many challenges” to that decision, such as the opportunity for fans to come watch practices.
So at this point, it doesn’t sound like anything is decided yet, and that means that Anderson University is still in the consideration. But there are a lot of things that go into a training camp decision, and it sounds like the Colts are indeed exploring their options. They’ve operated on a year-to-year basis with Anderson, and that has always left them the option to explore other possibilities. It also doesn’t sound like the options are limited to just Anderson, DePauw, or the team’s West 56th Street complex, as it’s possible that the team could find a different option they prefer. But right now, DePauw seems to be the place the Colts are most seriously considering moving camp to. As Holder wrote, though, “there is no exact timetable for a decision.”
Moving camp would be a break in tradition for the Colts, who have only held camp at Anderson University (1984-1998; 2010-2016) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1999-2009). It’s not a move the Colts should make just for the sake of change, but they’ll of course always be on the lookout for better facilities to use. So if they find there’s a better place that makes more sense, then it’d be worth making a change. After all, they need to make sure it’s a good setting for Hard Knocks, which they can be forced to do if they keep Chuck Pagano.
What would you think of the move of training camp sites?